More Poetry... More Flies

Today we applied some of our new poetry terms to Dickinson's poem "I heard a fly buzz when I died."

Poetry Terms... Lots of Them...

Today we continued our work with Jean Toomer's poem "Reapers," including extensive notes on poetry-related terms (primarily devices of sound).

Poetry, Handouts and Essay #1

Today we began our introduction to poetry with a warm-up which I intended to get back to, but then, well, I introduced the first paper (there were many handouts) and we sort of got stuck on that. More poetry tomorrow. Bring Sound and Sense!

Essay Due Dates:

• Topic/Thesis in class 11/2
• Completed draft in class 11/7
• Drafts to Mr. Staiano for comments (optional) 11/9 w/cover sheet
• Drafts posted to online response groups 11/10 @ midnight w/ cover sheet
• Online Comments 11/14
• Final Drafts Due w/ Cover Sheets 11/16

Beloved Pressure Comp

Today I collected study guides and movie notes, and then we spent the period on the timed writing for Beloved.

Bring Sound and Sense Monday.

Poetry Books, Ashland Voting, & Morrison

Today we got our poetry books, Perrine's Sound & Sense; bring them Monday and have them everyday until I say otherwise.

Next we voted on the second play for the Ashland trip. The Clay Cart won in a landslide.

Finally, we finished the film we started yesterday and talked about it a bit. I'll collect your film notes tomorrow before the essay.

Symbols, Motifs, and Morrison

Today we reviewed the Beloved symbol worksheet and then watched part of an interview with Toni Morrison.

Discussion Question Wrap

Today we finished the discussion question presentations and I collected the responses. We did a bit of group work on the symbol handout assigned yesterday in preparation for later discussion.

Let the Discussions Begin

Today we started the Beloved discussion presentations, getting about halfway through. We will finish these tomorrow and move on to a focused discussion of motifs based on the handout given in class today (Do 1-12 for HW tonight).

New Due Dates:

• Beloved PC & SG 10/26
• Own As I Lay Dying soon

Question Time

After a brief (relatively) warm-up, we continued work on the Beloved discussion questions. Be ready to begin discussions/presentations Monday.

Don't forget the essay critique assignment at GC. Due Monday!

Of grotesque caricatures and missing handouts...

After a long-ish warm-up, we started on a set of discussion questions in the same groups as the SOC presentations. We will continue them tomorrow in class. The handout is now on the handout page.

The Infinite Past

Today we considered Morrison's perspective on the past and finished up those stream of consciousness presentations.


HW: Beloved essay critique @ GC. Due 10/22.

Club/Agency Fair Fun!

In between wandering campus collecting free stuff and attending a riveting assembly, we managed to squeeze in a quiz and some discussion of Beloved's SOC. I am hopeful that 6th period will accomplish more...

Denver's Longing...

Today we continued with our stream of consciousness work, completing our look at Denver's SOC and beginning Beloved's.

Let the Presentations Begin

Well, I thought about giving a quiz today, but decided against it. There will be one on Tuesday though. Finish the book by then. The rest of the period was spend reading and discussing the SOC passages of Beloved. I expect these presentations/discussions will continue through Tuesday of next week.

SOC Work Day

The day was spent working on the stream of consciousness presentations, which will begin tomorrow after a five minute "get it together" period. We may also have a quiz on book two of Beloved, so be prepared.

Up the Stream of Consciousness

Today we started an in-class project/presentation focusing on the stream of consciousness portions of Beloved. The handout is online and I expect presentations to begin Friday after the quiz.

The Flies Got In...

Today we continued our work with stream of consciousness, looking at the short piece "Flies."

Finally Finished "11"

Today we wrapped our discussion of "11" and began a discussion of Stream of Consciousness.

Beloved Quiz

Today we took the quiz on book one of Beloved and discussed the text so far in a general way.

Be glad I don't grade like you do...

Today we did a little essay scoring exercise with "Eleven" essay from 1995. We got through our discussion of GGG in both classes, and in both classes folks were surprised by the essay's 4-ness (though 6th period did concede that it was at least a 3 and not the horrific two fourth period wanted it to be). We will finish our discussion of the better two essays tomorrow after our quiz.

Today I am eleven...

We continued our discussion of "Eleven" today with a focus on the actual prompt. For extra credit, spend 20 minutes and write the actual essay you planned in class.

Figurative Language and More!

Another Beloved quotation warm-up was followed by a discussion of "Eleven" and some serious delving into Cisneros' use of stylistic and figurative devices. Students created a chart listing each device (by name if possible) they could find, its line number, and the effect of the device on the story. Finished in class.

Beloved and "Eleven"

Today we did a bit of work with a quotation from Beloved, and then started our work with Cisneros' short story "Eleven." In periods 4 and 6, we wrote and then talked about being eleven and, in period 4, then read the story together. We will continue our work with this short story in both classes tomorrow.